Herbosa ready to face anti-graft complaint

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said he is ready to respond to the criminal charges recently filed against him by anonymous complainants before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Herbosa said he is prepared to give his side once the ombudsman requires him to do so.

“We will follow the Ombudsman (order). We will respond when we are asked to. It would be nice to know what are the cases filed. It would be difficult to answer without reading it (complaint),” Herbosa said in an interview, adding that he has yet to receive a copy of the complaint.

The Health chief said he was surprised when informed about the case, adding that he was not expecting it.

Last July 31, concerned employees of the Department of Health (DOH) filed a complaint against Herbosa and other officials over the alleged unauthorized release of P44.6 million worth of psychiatric drugs to the Rotary Club of Quezon City.

This was followed by the filing of criminal charges by a group of anonymous complainants, who are also from the DOH, last Wednesday.

The group asked the ombudsman to investigate Herbosa “for unliquidated funds transferred to the United Nations Children’s Fund.” The amount involved a P1.29-billion cash advance to UNICEF released from February to July 2024.

Herbosa also allegedly initiated a new procurement request to purchase vaccines from UNICEF for an additional P524 million.